A£t£mb£w&'}     Therapeutic  Application  of  the  X-Rays.  581 
times  accompanied  by  a  falling  out  of  the  hair  of  the  head  or  beard. 
In  some  of  the  cases  the  inflammatory  condition  is  said  to  have 
appeared  on  the  side  of  the  part  that  was  farthest  removed  from  the 
tube. 
It  was  immediately  suggested  that  here  was  a  means  by  which 
disease  in  any  portion  of  the  body  might  be  reached  and  modified. 
This  suggestion  led  to  extensive  investigations,  and  it  was  soon 
found  that  the  rays  themselves  had  little  or  no  effect  on  the  growth 
of  micro-organisms  in  suitable  culture  media.  It  was  evident,  then, 
that  any  healing  properties  that  these  rays  possessed  were  not  due 
to  any  direct  bactericidal  action,  and  must  therefore  be  of  some  dif- 
ferent nature. 
The  exact  mode  of  action  has  even  at  the  present  time  not  been 
definitely  determined ;  it  is  probably  due  to  some  electro-chemical 
action  on  the  healthy  cells  or  cell-contents,  causing  an  active  though 
non-infectious  inflammatory  condition  that  ultimately  results  in  a 
marked  improvement  in  the  circulation  and  tone  of  the  surrounding 
tissues. 
Extensive  experiments  have  been  made  in  Europe,  as  well  as  in 
this  country,  and  a  considerable  amount  of  reliable  data  has  been 
collected  as  to  the  effects  that  the  X-rays  have  on  different  condi- 
tions under  varying  circumstances. 
So  far,  most  promising  and  satisfactory  results  have  been  obtained 
in  cases  of  superficial  new  growths,  like  the  epidermoid  cancers  and 
epitheliomata.  The  rays  have  also  been  used,  with  some  favorable 
results,  in  cases  of  carcinoma  of  the  breast  both  new  and  recurrent. 
The  most  promising  field,  however,  for  the  application  of  the  X-rays 
appears  to  be  in  cases  of  lupus,  a  form  of  tuberculosis  involving  the 
skin.  This  is  one  of  the  diseases  that  does  not  readily  yield  to 
ordinary  therapeutic  measures,  and  the  favorable  and  apparently 
permanent  results  that  have  been  obtained  by  means  of  this  new 
therapeutic  agent  are  therefore  particularly  gratifying.  Several 
series  of  experiments  that  have  been  made,  and  extensively  quoted, 
appear  to  indicate  that  it  is  possible  to  modify  the  ordinary  course 
of  tubercular  processes  that  have  been  artificially  produced  in  guinea 
pigs.  From  these  published  reports  we  would  be  led  to  believe  that 
here  we  have  the  promise  of  an  active  curative  agent  in  the  two 
scourges  of  the  human  family — carcinoma  and  consumption.  It 
must  be  remembered,  however,  that  a  very  great  amount  of  experi- 
